Twisted Fates
by Archdemon Slayer
Summary: Mysterious events seem to be happening around the 6th Holy Grail War, and some can't help but wonder if they're connected. Please review, as this is my first M-rated fanfic. I want to know what others think so I can decide whether or not to make another.
1. Chapter 1

**This may or may not be explicit. Also, there is a Naruto thing in here, as my OC uses jutsu for magic. And God Eater, with the aragami. This story focuses on her and Lancer, my favorite Servant, especially after he punched Shinji. This follows the UBW route. It has a bit of Fate, with Illya and Mr. Kuzuki being alive, though both maids are dead. Gilgamesh also isn't in this because I hate the arrogant douchebag.**

* * *

Blood flew through the air as the victim's body fell, a giant cut across his throat. The assailant sighed, using her left hand to brush away the black strands of hair from her crimson eyes. In the other hand was a dark, violet spear. At one end was a long blade stained with blood. As she looked around the study her mark was in, she noticed what looked to be a red, complex circle on the ground. Near it was a podium with a black, open box on top of it.

Curiosity got the better of the girl as she walked over to the box, peering inside it. In the moonlight filtering through the window, all she saw was a scrap of blue cloth.

"What's this for?" she wondered aloud. Come to think of it, she came in and took the guy down as he was saying, "My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny." She wondered if that has anything to do with it.

As she turned to leave, something broke the door down. As the dust cleared, the girl saw one of the new beasts. It had brown fur and stood like a four-legged creature except it had two legs. It's head and tail were covered in what looked like bone. At the end of the flat tail was a curved claw. At the head, two yellow eyes peered out. The mouth revealed rows of sharp teeth with two long, bottom ones.

"Fuck," she groaned. As it leapt at her, mouth wide open, she weaved a series of hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The fire knocked the beast back and two more showed up in the doorway.

"You have got to be kidding me!" The two lunged at the girl and she used both ends of the spear to block them. The one she knocked back got back up and tried to attack her from her left. She kicked the two creatures she was blocking away and got ready to take it down. But a pain in her right hand stopped her. As she was wincing, the beast knocked her down. The two she kicked joined the first in towering over her, ready to go in for the kill.

Just as she started to curse her luck, pain flared in her right hand again. This time, when the girl looked down, a red diamond with an angel wing on each side, feathers facing out, formed on the back of her hand. At the same time, the circle glowed with a blinding white light. Before she could say anything, a blue blur came at the creatures and knocked them all out of the room.

A man turned around. "You my Master?" The girl before him looked to be in her 20's with long, jet-black hair and red eyes. She had bangs that swooshed at the end so they were right over her left eye. She wore a white shirt with a black jacket over it. She wore gray shorts with black boots. In her right hand was a spear.

"Master?" she echoed. The man had blue hair that was tied in a ponytail with a golden clasp. He had red, cat-like eyes. Over his body were blue tights with silver runes on them and he had a silver earring on each ear. In his right hand was a red spear.

"I'm yer lancer-class Servant," he continued with a roll of his eyes, like we was talking to someone mentally retarded.

As the girl gaped like a fish, the three beasts came back into the room, snarling. The man smirked.

"These guys ain't smart, are they?" As the three jumped at the man, he spun around, smashing them into the wall with his spear. Before they could recover, he stabbed all three of them, killing them.

"What are you?!" the girl demanded, standing up. The man sighed and turned to face her.

"I already said I'm yer lancer-class Servant. Just call me Lancer."

"Master? Servant? What the hell is going on?!" the girl shouted. Lancer facepalmed.

"You really have no idea what's going on, huh? Those three Command Seals on yer right hand are proof yer a Master."

"These things?" She looked down at the markings on the back of her right hand.

"I can't believe I gotta explain everything," Lancer groaned. "Let's just start off with who you are."

The girl stared at him before replying timidly. "I'm Karin Shinozaki. I work as an assassin and I killed the man I was after when those things and you showed up."

"I assume then that this guy was meant to be my Master." Lancer glanced over at the dead man.

"Most likely," Karin shrugged.

"Well, whatever. He's dead and yer not. As long as you continue to supply me with mana, I won't complain."

* * *

After Lancer explained to Karin about the Holy Grail War, which he didn't enjoy, the two went to a phone that had a message recorded. After pressing the button to play it back, the two learned about a summons for all Masters and Servants to appear at the church for an emergency meeting.

"You gonna go?" Lancer asked.

"Why should I? It doesn't have anything to do with me."

"Actually, it does. In case you forgot, yer a Master now."

"Don't remind me. I know I'm in a bloodbath for something I don't need."

Lancer put his hands behind his head and looked at the girl curiously. "You don't have a wish?"

"Not that I know of."

"Well, the Grail probably picked you for yer wish an' you don't even know what it is."

Karin sighed and pulled out her cell phone. "Whatever, I'll call a cab to get us to New City."

* * *

Karin climbed into the cab, along with a dematerialized Lancer.

"Of all the Servants, I had to be stuck with the sexual harasser," Karin grumbled, knowing the legend of Cu Chulainn.

"What's a 'sexual harasser'?" Lancer asked Karin in her mind. She sweatdropped. He really didn't know?! Oh, she's going to have _fun_ explaining the concept of sexual harassment to him.

"I'll tell you about it later," she whispered, blushing at the thought of explaining it. The cab stopped at the church and Karin got out, going in the building. There were six other Masters inside with their Servants. Female Masters were in the right pews and males in the left. For females, the Masters sat at the left end and Servants at the right, though the Berserker stood at the right of the pew, being too big to sit. Male Masters sat on the right end of their pews and Servants to the left. At the front was a man with short, black hair, black eyes, and wearing a church robe.

As Karin sat behind the female Masters, Lancer materialized himself to her right, sitting.

"Even though no fighting is allowed in the church, I still feel uneasy without me guarding you," Lancer said. He and a man with silver hair and wearing red locked eyes and glared at each other. "Fuck you, Archer."

"I would say 'screw you', but you've already done that," Archer smirked, bringing up the fact Lancer was forced to commit suicide last time. Lancer snarled at him.

"I am Ginrou Kotomine, cousin of Kirei Kotomine, who died two months ago," the man up front said. Karin heard Lancer chuckle darkly, remembering running the bastard through with Gae Bolg. Serves Kotomine right after that priest killed Bazett. "In his place, I have been named Overseer. I'm sure many of you got the news of a possible 6th Holy Grail War."

"It's way too soon," a girl with black hair tied in two pigtails said, crossing her arms. Behind her, a girl with purple hair shuffled in her seat, glancing at her Servant, a woman with long, lavender hair and wearing a blindfold.

"I know this is a short cycle, but the Holy Grail is in this world, though it is moving and we of the church have no idea what's happening. Until we do, I ask that Servants don't fight one another to the death." Ginrou said.

"Are you saying we should get along?" Lancer asked.

"Ideally. And we should start by getting to know Masters and Servants better. There are the same Masters from the 5th, but there are two new ones. Everyone should introduce themselves and their Servants, starting from the first Master, then the second and so on."

The seven Masters and their Servants began murmuring amongst themselves, but complied. As each Master went, they stood up and introduced themselves and their Servant before sitting back down again. The girl with the black hair stood up first.

"I'm Rin Tohsaka, Master of Archer."

"True name?" Ginrou prompted.

"I don't feel it's worth it. Even if you know his true name, he still goes by his class name," Rin replied.

"We'll leave it at that for now," Ginrou sighed. "Next Master."

"I am Karin Shinozaki, Master of Cu Chulainn, lancer-class."

"I-I'm Sakura Matou. My Servant is Medusa, rider-class."

"Issei Ryudou. Master of Kojiro Sasaki, assassin-class."

"I'm Illyasveil von Einzburn, Master of Hercules, berserker-class."

"Soichirou Kuzuki, Master of Medea, caster-class."

"Shirou Emiya, Master of Arturia Pendragon, saber-class."

"I knew Ryudou was a new Master, but I expected you to be a man, Shinozaki," Ginrou said.

"There was a last-minute change," Karin replied hastily. "I'm a Master in his place."

"I'd better change the listing, then," Ginrou sighed.

* * *

As Karin waited for the cab to pick her and Lancer up, Shirou, the boy with red hair and gold eyes, came over. Saber was talking with Rin.

"I'd be careful if I were you," Shirou warned. "Lancer may try to kill you."

"Wouldja let that go?!" Lancer exclaimed. Karin sighed.

"And he may try to make a move on you."

"Just because she's a girl doesn't mean I wanna bang her!"

"I know Lancer is perverted, but he ought to know his position as Servant and mine as Master," Karin replied.

"...That's cold," Lancer said, feigning a hurt look when he was called 'perverted'. Then his eyes widened as he realized something. "Wait! You never told me what a 'sexual harasser' was."

Karin facepalmed. "My god..."

Shirou chuckled. "As you can see, he sometimes opens his big mouth without thinking it through. But I won't argue with caalling him one."

By now, the other Masters and Servants were staring at the 'sexual harasser' comment.

"Nice one, Karin," Archer laughed. This earned him a glare from Lancer.

"Do you know something I don't?!"

"It's just a comment about your...habits," Assassin smirked.

"It's like fishing?" Lancer guessed. All the other Masters and some Servants facepalmed.

"Forget it, dumbass," Karin huffed.

* * *

When the two got to the house Karin was in, Lancer decided to open his big mouth again.

"I don't get it. All those reactions from me saying 'sexual harasser'?"

"From now on, when I comment about things you don't know, ask me _alone_ about it!" Karin snapped at him. "God, you embarassed me!"

"I just wanted to know what it was..." Lancer murmured.

"Something you shouldn't be!" Karin yelled, throwing her arms up.

"That still doesn't tell me what it is..." Lancer pointed out.

Karin let out a growl. "'Night, dumbass."


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Karin opened her eyes to see a perverted demigod in bed with her, kissing the assassin deeply.

"What. The. Fuck. Are. You. _Doing_?!" she growled dangerously. The spearman smirked, pulling away from his Master.

"You were sleeping so long, an' I figured only a kiss from a prince could wake the princess."

Karin huffed as Lancer continued.

"Plus, I could tell that even though yer eyes were closed, yer were awake for about 10 seconds, about as long as I was kissing you."

Karin turned a deep shade of red, almost as red as her eyes.

"I-Idiot!" she stammered before slapping him off the bed. As Lancer rubbed his cheek where Karin hit him, he noticed the assassin didn't wipe off her lips as she stormed out of the room.

* * *

After Gilgamesh killed Berserker last time, Shirou allowed Illya to stay at his house until the war was over. Now that it was, she stayed with Rin. As he and Saber went to see Rin, the homoculus greeted them at the door.

"I'm so glad to see you, Brother!" Illya chimed.

"Is that you, Shirou?" a voice called. A moment later, Rin came down the stairs with Archer.

"We have to talk, Tohsaka," Shirou told her.

In Rin's living room, Rin, Archer, Shirou, Saber, and Illya sat around a table. Berserker leaned against a wall.

"I take it this is about the Holy Grail?" Rin guessed.

"Are we gonna destroy it?" Illya asked.

"Obviously!" Saber snapped. "Something like that should not be allowed to exist!"

"What I don't get is how it could've _formed_ ," Shirou said. "Doesn't it need an Einzbern"

"Before we can figure that out, we need to find it," Archer pointed out. "And I have an idea."

"You do?" Saber asked. Archer nodded.

"Those new creatures called aragami radiate energy similar to the Holy Grail."

"Think there's a connection?" Shirou questioned.

"Possibly, but I can't say for certain yet."

"At least it's better than having nothing to go on at all." Rin said.

* * *

Later in the day, Karin found some of her dad's clothes and let Lancer try them on. Thankfully, they fit. He was wering a white tank-top, black pants, and a Hawaian shirt over the first. He also got a job working at a flower shop.

"That doesn't seem like you," Karin had said.

"If I do it right, I can pull off successful hunting sessions for the ladies," had been Lancer's reply.

"It's just a way to pick up girls?" Karin sighed.

"Jealous?"

"O-Of course not!"

Lancer had laughed, which earned him a punch from Karin.

Back at her house, Karin started cooking dinner.

"I don't have much, Lancer. How about grilled hotdogs?"

"Of course not!" Lancer exclaimed. Karin was about to ask him what was wrong with hotdogs when she remembered his geis that prevented him from eating dog meat. She almost laughed out loud. Sure, the name was deceiving, but still...

"It's pig meat!"

"If it's made from pig, why is it called a 'hotdog'?" Lancer asked.

"Like I would know!" Karin shouted.

* * *

At the Matou house, Sakura was outside with her Servant. Night had fallen. Rider was in new clothes. She wore a black sweater and pants, as well as a pair of glasses that helped stop her from turning people to stone.

"The stars are lovely, right?" Sakura asked.

"They are,"Rider agreed. Then she went into a battle stance. "Who's there?!"

"What is it?" Sakura questioned, straining her eyes to see anything out of the ordinary. Rider switched to her battle outfit.

"Please stay here," Rider warned Sakura.

Sakura shook her head. "I'm going with you!"

Rider sighed. "Fine, but stay out of the fighting. I don't want you to get hurt."

Sakura nodded tersely and followed the Gorgon into a nearby forest.

"It was right around here..." Rider murmured, glancing around.

"Look out!" Sakura shouted, looking up. Medusa jumped out of the way to dodge the tiger-like aragami known as a Vaijra as it landed where she was just a bit ago. The beast snarled as Rider summoned her dagger and chain.

The Vaijra released a ball of electricity at the Servant, which Medusa blocked by whipping up the chain. She jumped back in time as the Vaijra clawed at her at the same time she blocked the first attack. The Gorgon crouched, holding her dagger in front of her in a reverse grip.

She waited for the Vaijra to lash at her again to leap up, hurling her dagger at the tiger. However, it used it's tail to block the attack.

As she landed, the aragami lashed at her again, but she yanked at the chain, pulling back the dagger and having the blade block the strike.

"I'll support you with magic!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You mustn't get involved in this!" Medusa shouted back. She turned her attention back to the Vaijra just as it whipped it's tail at her. She managed to shove Sakura out of the way and jump back on a tree branch. The Vaijra quickly moved over to the tree and clamped it's jaws around the trunk, crushing it. Rider hopped down just as the tree began to fall and wrapped her chain around the horn-like things and got ready to plunge her dagger into the beast.

However, the red strips lifted themselves up and an electric shockwave radiated from the tiger, loosening the chain and sending Medusa flying back, the chain falling from the horns.

* * *

Before Karin took a bath, she threatened Lancer if he tried opening the door to peek. He was outside, waiting for his Master to finish, when he saw a white light in the sky.

"Isn't that Rider's Bellerophon?" he wondered aloud. He knew she possessed it, but she never used the Noble Phantasm before she was killed last time. If she was using it, something bad must be happening where she is.

"What are you doing?"

Lancer turned and saw Karin standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but a towel around her chest. Lancer resisted the urge to rip the towel off and take her all the way.

"Not much, an' you should wear a towel like that more often."

Karin turned around and went back in. "Creep."

* * *

Medusa was being pushed into a corner. There was only one way out of this.

"Bellerophon!" she shouted, summoning Pegasus and getting on it. As it took to the skies, Vaijra's gaze moved up.

Pegasus dove down at the tiger. Vaijra sent several balls of electricity at the flying horse, but it dodged all of them, taking to the skies again and swooping down at the beast. It jumped to the side in time to dodge the attack. This bullfighting went on for awhile before the horse was enveloped in a white light. It dove at the Vaijra like an arrow. It collided with the tiger's head, ripping through the plating and tearing through the skull.

As Medusa got of Pegasus and the horses vanished, Rider heard Sakura scream and she snapped her head around. An Ogretail jumped out at the girl, jaws open. Medusa quickly shoved her away and slashed the rat-thing's neck with her dagger. However, it's teeth clamped on her neck, ripping it apart.

"Rider!" Sakura cried, rushing over to her dying Servant.

"I'm just glad... you're safe..." were her last words before the Gorgon faded away.

"Useless."

Sakura recognized the cruel voice behind her.

"Grandfather!" Sakura exclaimed as Zouken came out of the bushes.

"I had hoped that keeping you as Rider's Master instead of Shinji would make her stronger, but she still died anyway."

"Are you angry?"

"A little," Zouken admitted. "The Grail has eluded us once again, but we can always try again the next time. Now, make yourself useful and see Shinji in the hospital."

* * *

Another emergency meeting by the church was called and Karin was so sleepy she was practically dead on her feet.

"Can't this wait until morning?" she yawned. "I need some serious shut-eye." She groped for her cell phone and called a cab.

"I agree. I need sleep to keep up my appearance for the ladies," Lancer put in.

"And you have a giant ego," Karin growled.

"Don't be so grumpy!" Lancer exclaimed, wrapping his left arm around Karin's shoulder and pulling her close. "An unhappy face doesn't suit you!"

"Like I give a shit," Karin grumbled. Lancer grinned at her but wondered if this meeting had anything to do with him seeing Bellerophon.

At the church, Masters and Servants sat where they had last time. All Servants were wearing modern clothes, with Assassin wearing a blue shirt, white pants, and a bandanna. But one pair was missing.

"Where's Sakura and Rider?" Rin asked, looking around for the two. Ginrou spoke to everyone, answering the question.

"Rider has died tonight."

The room fell silent. Only Servants and powerful opponents could kill Servants, and a truce had been made the other night.

"What happened?" Issei demanded.

"Near where she was killed, the corpses of two aragami were found. And both had traces of the Grail's power."

"So those things have the Grail?" Caster asked. Ginrou nodded.

"It's not confirmed, but it's likely."

Lancer leaned back in the pew, resting both arms on the back. "So this time, the Grail fights back?"

"Are we back to fighting one another?" Assassin asked.

"No, all Servants should work together to eradicate the aragami," Ginrou replied. "When that has been done, the truce will be lifted."

* * *

As Karin plopped facefirst into her bed, she grumbled. "If we get called in late for the third time tomorrow, I'm gonna lose it!"

"These things are important," Lancer pointed out, getting ready to sleep on the couch in the room.

"Maybe, but they're running me ragged!" Karin complained. Lancer got up and began rubbing his Master's back. "...What are you doing?"

"You just seemed tense," the spearman chuckled.

"...Get your hands away from my ass before I punch you into next week!" she snarled. Lancer laughed and moved his hands up.

"I thought you would like 'em there!" Karin buried her face in a pillow to hide her blush. She growled when she felt Lancer move them up under her bra, cupping her breasts through her shirt.

"What about here?" the pervert chuckled.

"What do you think, dumbass?!" Karin shouted, hitting him in the face with the pillow. It did nothing to wipe away his smirk. She swore to use her foot next time.

"I knew you liked it!" the man laughed.

"Fuck you, Cu Chulainn," Karin growled.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days later, during the weekend when everyone had a break from work, the female Masters and Servants went to the mall to shop while the male Masters and Servants went to Shirou's house for a drinking party while Taiga was away. Hercules stook out like a sore thumb walking around in town.

"Damn, Archer's here," Lancer groaned when he walked in, seeing Archer at the table. Shirou shrugged.

"It might be an opportunity for you two to bury the hatchet and become friends."

"Unlikely." Lancer took out a cigarette and prepared to light it.

"Please stop!" Shirou exclaimed. Lancer froze, about to light up his cigarette. "Please don't smoke in here!"

Lancer sighed and put the cigarette away. "Geez, you sound just like Karin."

"She banned you from smoking?" Issei asked as he and Assassin sat down.

"Just inside," Lancer said, joining everyone else at the table. He made sure to sit across from Archer. Berserker had to stand near the table. Everyone, except for Issei and Shirou, grabbed a can of beer and started drinking. The two students just had a glass of grape juice.

"So, Lancer," Shirou began, setting his glass down on the table. "How are things going with you and Shinozaki?"

Issei almost choked on his drink. "E-Emiya?! You really shouldn't pry into others' personal lives!"

Lancer smirked and set his beer down. "She's makin' me work for it, but I can tell she's into me."

"Do you think it's worth it?" Assassin asked, taking another drink.

"Oh, yeah," Lancer replied, picking up his can, but not drinking yet. "She's a prideful girl, an' it will be fun to break it enough to make room for me."

"So in other words, she's another victim of your 'hunting sessions'?" Archer summarized.

"You got a problem with that, Archer?!" Lancer demanded, slamming his can down on the table. Berserker, trying to stay out of this, found his can was empty. Shirou sighed and went to the fridge to get another. "What about you an' Rin?!"

Archer's eyes widened and he almost spat out his drink. "Nothing's going on," he said, wiping his chin. "And don't change who this conversation's pointed at."

Soichirou noticed Assassin trying to hold back laughter. "Are you enjoying this?"

"Nothing better than two men arguing over love," the samurai smirked. Then he remembered something. "Oh, yeah. What about you and Caster?"

At once, all the boys' attentions went to Soichirou. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks. "She's just a nice woman. That's all."

Assassin had a knowing smile. "Riiight. Seems you aren't noticing it."

"What are you getting at?" Soichirou asked, though an uncharacteristic growl was in his voice.

"Man, you are _dense_!" Assassin laughed.

"I think we should talk about Shirou an' Saber," Lancer suggested.

Now it was Shirou's turn to almost choke on his drink. "M-Me and Saber?!"

"She's much older than Emiya," Issei pointed out.

"We're all older than our Masters, but that ain't stoppin' us," Lancer said.

"I'm so glad my Master's male," Assassin sighed. "Then, rumors about us won't be flying."

* * *

All the girls were at a table in the food court with bags of goods next to them and eating food, though Saber was done, having wolfed her's down. The others noticed a gleam in Caster's eyes as she glanced over at the king.

"What about you and Lancer?" Rin asked Karin with a sly smile. Karin gagged on her food before swallowing before she choked on it.

"H-He's just my Servant! What about it?"

The four other girls giggled. Karin turned red and became angry. "...What?!"

"Don't lie; it's obvious!" Illya chimed. Karin glared at the Einzbern. "You love him, don't you?"

"No use denying it," Caster added, using her chopsticks to eat some rice. Karin switched her glare to the witch.

"What about him attracts you?" Illya asked slyly, a devilish grin on her face.

"Nothing!" Karin exclaimed. Her outburst drew some stares. The girl's face went red and she shrunk in her seat before the people went back to eating.

"That's a lie." Rin's actions mirrored Illya's. "We won't stop until you tell us."

Karin's face matched a tomato. "F-Fine! He acts weird, but he has a big heart. And he never gets mad at me, no matter what I do."

"Nothing about his looks?" Rin asked, bored. She had her chin in her left palm and that elbow on the table.

"W-Well, he's pretty handsome, but that's not what I really care about," Karin stammered. "Let's talk about Saber and Shirou!"

"Whaaf?" Saber's mouth was full of food. Caster had allowed the knight to eat the rest of her's.

"I bet you two are going to have sex soon!" Karin added, eager to change the subject.

Rin clapped her hands over Illya's ears. "Karin! A little girl is present! We can't talk about these things around her!"

"You were asking about details of me and Lancer's relationship!"

"But I wasn't talking about sex!"

"It sounded like you were about to!"

Caster giggled to herself. "At least no questions about me and Master Soichirou have come up!" She noticed the other girls, except Saber who was busy stuffing her face with the other girls' food, were staring at her. "...What?"

"What about Caster and Mr. Kuzuki?!" Karin demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the elf.

"Little girl!" Caster roared.

"Her attraction to him is more obvious than Karin and Lancer's," Rin thought out loud, putting her left hand to her chin.

"He seems so stiff," Karin said. "Why are you smitten with him?"

"He's nice to me is all!" Caster exclaimed.

* * *

"Achoo!" Soichirou sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Issei asked.

The teacher wiped his nose. "I am. I had the feeling someone was talking about me."

Lancer smirked. "I know the feelin'. Girls don't stop talkin' about me."

Archer sighed. "There goes his giant ego again." Lancer gave Archer the middle finger.

"I bet all they talked about was the asshole that raped them," Shirou laughed.

* * *

After lunch, the girls left the mall. But once they were in the treeline, a black Vaijra known as Dyaus Pita charged at them.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!" Karin shouted while Caster launched several blasts of magic. However, Pita used his right wing to block the attacks.

"Damn! We need our Servants!" Rin spat.

"You do that while we call our Masters!" Saber shouted. "Hopefully, they'll have Issei and Assassin come as well!"

"Understood! Archer!

"Berserker!"

"Lancer!" As each Master called their Servant, one Command Seal faded. The right wing of Karin's Command Seals was used.

* * *

Once everything settled down, the guys went back to drinking.

"Like I was sayin', Karin's..." Lancer didn't get to finish before he vanished. Soon after, Archer and Berserker vanished as well.

"What's going on?!" Shirou demanded, bolting to his feet. However, Saber began speaking to him in his mind.

 _'Shirou, we encountered Dyaus Pita outside the mall. You need to come! Tell Issei and Assassin to come as well.'_

"We need to go!" the boy shouted.

"The mall, right?" Soichirou asked.

"How did you know?"

"Caster told me that she and the other girls encountered Dyaus Pita."

"They did?!" Now Issei got to his feet. Assassin sighed.

"Let's get this over with."

* * *

The Servant were assembled and switched to their battle gear. Karin grit her teeth as Lancer blocked another wing attack from the aragami. She'd left her spear at home, so she felt useless.

Pita jumped up just as Berserker smashed the ground, but Medea had taken to the skies, firing six beams of magic at the tiger. He couldn't defend in the air and let the attack hit. However, when it landed, the others couldn't see a single scratch.

Pita roared, tree roots coming out of the ground and snaking around everyone, except Caster who was still in the sky.

"Damn!" Karin and Rin tried to use magic, but their hands were restrained. The Servants weren't much better off, their weapons fixed in place where they couldn't cut the roots.

Caster looked down at the others and fired weak bolts of magic at them, frying the roots and allowing the others to dodge Pita as he jumped at them.

Berserker and Saber ran at either side of the beast, swinging the ax and sword. But Pita used both wings to block the attack. It used the wings to block Archer's arrows.

Karin allowed Lancer to use his Noble Phantasm. The spear glowed red as mana surrounded it. "Gae... Bolg!"

Dyaus Pita unleashed a giant ball of electricity at the first attack, cancelling it out. Surprisingly, the attack didn't go again.

"What?!" Lancer exclaimed.

"...You felt it, didn't you?" Archer asked.

"That attack had the Grail's power," Saber said as she jumped back.

"It negated your Noble Phantasm," Archer continued. Berserker swung his ax at Pita again, but the black tiger simply used his tail to block it. At the same time, Medea launched several beams of magic. Pita pushed back Hercules and used his wings to defend himself. The aragami launched a ball of electricity, knocking the mage down.

Rin threw a gem at the aragami, its purpose to blind him. But Pita covered his eyes with his wings, making it useless. Pita chuckled and lashed at Rin.

"Gale Style: Laser Circus!" The attack knocked the tiger off-course. Pita growled and turned his attention to Karin.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Lancer shouted, dashing at the tiger and thrusting with his spear. At the same time, Archer conjured up several swords and fired them at the beast. Pita used his tail to block the swords while he used his wings to protect himself from Lancer's spear. Berserker jumped at the aragami, bringing his ax down. A discharge of black lightning hit both Servants, causing several burns.

Pita shot one wing out, blades first, at Caster. Saber got in the way, using her invisible sword to block the strike. While Pita was distracted, Archer used this chance to run up to the tiger and plunge both swords into it. Pita broke away from Saber and jumped back, dodging Archer. As Saber tried to follow up her attack, the creature swung his tail at the king, cutting her left side deeply. Thankfully, the armor blocked most of the damage.

As Karin weaved some hand signs, Dyaus Pita charged at her. Just before it got to her, Lancer pushed her out of the way and used the shaft of his spear to bash Pita's head, slowing him. Pita forced Lancer a few meters back before coming to a complete halt. Lancer pulled his spear away and spun in a full circle, taking the spear with him and brought the tip and the tiger's right flank. But it used one wing to block.

Unknown to him, the other wing swung at him, sending him flying as it collided with him, his right arm and most of his chest having a deep gash in it.

As Karin went to Lancer, Caster flew up and fired several rounds of magic at the aragami. As a smokescreen created by Pita using his wings to defend himself was produced, Berserker ran at the beast, swinging his ax. Pita used his tail to block it and punched the Servant away. When it landed, Illya fell off his shoulder.

Pita smirked and held one wing in front of his left flank, blocking Archer's arrows while Rin was helping Karin heal Lancer after she helped Saber.

Archer grit his teeth and the aragami charged at him, trying to spear the man with the claws on his wings. As Archer used his bow to block, Caster fired a few rounds of magic, trying to knock the tiger away. It jumped up, causing the magic to hit bare ground, and used one wing to slash the mage. Blood poured out of a giant cut across her abdomen. As it landed, a voice rang out.

"Ultimate... Swallow Reversal!"

Pita managed to block the three sword strikes with just his left wing as Shirou, Issei, Soichirou, and Assassin joined the others. Pita growled and slunk deep into the forest, leaving the others to care for Saber, Lancer, and Caster.

Rin had stopped Lancer's bleeding and went to help Caster.

"Just one enemy caused this?" Assassin asked.

"Nothing we did worked," Lancer coughed, expelling some blood from his mouth.

"It took all we had just to keep from getting killed," Archer added. Shirou looked at the damage caused by the battle.

"It did this much?" Illya was helping Berserker with his burns.

"Yes, and it definitely had the Grail," Saber said. "Lancer's Gae Bolg was rendered useless."

"We have to kill that thing somehow," Karin pointed out.

"Its wings are the problem," Saber replied. "Rider's chain could've immobilized them."

"Too bad she's dead," Issei murmured.

"She may have been killed first because of that!" Rin exclaimed.

"Are you saying it was set up?" Assassin asked.

"Most likely."

Assassin sighed. "So the enemy is smart enough to strategize, huh?"

"It seems we can kill the Vaijra one-on-one, but we need to work together when fighting Dyaus Pita," Shirou said. Saber nodded.

"Agreed."

"I have a feeling it was holding back," Archer commented. "We could all be killed if it goes all-out."

Shirou had an answer for this. "Then we just need to get stronger!"


	4. Chapter 4

Lancer awoke with a groan, trying to sit up. He saw he was in Karin's bed. His battle uniform was still on, but with his top taken off and bandages wrapped around his wounds. His hair was out of the clasp and the earrings were off. He vaguely remembered what happened.

He remembered Shirou helping Karin carry him back to her house after the battle. That's when he fell unconscious.

"You're up."

Lancer turned his head to the sound of that voice. Standing in the doorway, arms crossed and leaning up against the wall, was Karin.

Lancer groaned and put his left hand to his forehead. "How long was I out?"

"A day. It's Sunday, now. If you aren't on your feet by tomorrow, I'll tell your boss you're sick."

Lancer smirked. "Since I'm in yer bed, that must've mean you got cuddly with me last night."

Karin blushed. "Of course not! I slept on the couch, idiot!" She huffed and turned away. She didn't want to admit it, but those kinds of thoughts plagued her last night. She turned back around, hearing Lancer grunt. The spearman was trying to get out of bed. Karin walked to where she was behind the warrior. Lancer felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Even without a ponytail, Karin grabbed several blue strands of hair and yanked. Hard. This forced his head back down on the pillow.

"What the fuck is yer problem?!" Lancer raged. Karin smirked at his reaction.

"You still need to rest. I was able to close the wounds further and heal the burns, but I need to save some mana for you to keep a physical form and for me to use jutsu."

"I've been meanin' to ask you about that. Yer magic is different from the types I've seen."

Karin sighed. "...It's an ancient art that fell out of practice a few centuries ago. Only the Shinozaki family and a few others still know it. It used to use something called chakra, but along the way, some figured out how to use mana to cast jutsu. Chakra used to be limited to two of the five elements, but as mana isn't as restricted, those who use it can access any of the five elements."

"I see. What about the rest of my uniform?"

"I was able to wash the blood out. I'm gonna patch it up."

Karin squeezed her eyes shut, her cheeks going red. She lowered her head down to her Servant's. Lancer's eyes widened for a moment as her felt Karin's lips press up against his, then he closed his eyes.

She lifted her head up, face still red. "...Thanks for saving me the other day..."

Lancer opened his eyes and smirked. "'Bout time you did that."

Karin resisted the urge to slap him. "I-I guess you must be hungry."

"Sure, but I wouldn't mind you kissin' me again."

Karin allowed a small smile on her lips. "...Maybe sometime."

* * *

As Shirou, Saber, and Taiga ate dinner, Shirou couldn't help but to think back to when Lancer passed out.

Karin was crying because she thought Lancer had died, despite Shirou trying to convince her Lancer just passed out. If the warrior saw Karin like that, he'd never let her hear the end of it.

* * *

Lancer switched to his modern clothes after Karin changed the bandages and salve. He got the clasp and earrings back in. He was able to walk, unsteady at first, to the table to eat. After they were done, the pair went out into the back yard to gaze up at the stars.

"They're beautiful," Karin breathed. Lancer wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled his Master in so her head was resting on his left shoulder.

"Not as much as you." He planted a kiss on her forehead. He was surprised Karin didn't beat the shit out of him for being so bold, but instead nuzzled her face against his shoulder. "Wanna do it?"

"Not out here where people could see us!" she exclaimed. A howl echoed through the night.

"What was that?"

"Damn coyotes again [1]." Karin sighed, detaching herself from Lancer, and went back inside, the warrior following.

"Are we gonna have sex?" Lancer asked.

"Not yet," Karin replied, plopping down on the living room's couch and flipping on the T.V.

"Is it yer time of the month?" the spearman pressed.

"No, moron!"

"Are you a virgin?"

That made Karin's eyes widen, blushing madly. Lancer cracked up.

"That's the only problem?!" he laughed. Karin snapped her head over in his direction to glare at him.

"And what if it is?!" she demanded.

"Nothin' to be ashamed of! I'll show you how it's done."

* * *

In the Tohsaka house, Archer went over to Rin. They were in the living room. Illya and Berserker were watching T.V.

"Have you figured out why the aragami have the Grail's power?" Archer asked his Master. Rin was at a table, thinking hard.

"Not yet, but they showed up after the Grail was destroyed at the end of the 5th war. That may have something to do with it."

"Regardless, Noble Phantasms like Gae Bolg are useless," the red swordsman sighed.

"And Berserker's God's Hand was made useless, too!" Illya piped up. Rin turned to the silver-haired girl.

"What do you mean?"

"Hercules got burned by a simple shockwave." Berserker grunted in affirmation.

Archer put a hand to his chin. "And Ultimate Swallow Reversal wasn't negated, but Pita blocked. He didn't attack."

Rin's eyes widened as a realization came over her. "Noble Phantasms are only useless if he attacks them!"

"So if we can get them where he can't see them to attack, they'll work," Archer summed up. "But that leaves his wings as the only problem."

"One of us could distract him to the point he uses both wings while another goes in for an attack," Rin answered.

"He may figure out the one attacking is a decoy," her Servant pointed out. "He's smart enough to know how to prevent from being blinded."

"It's a risk we have to take!"

* * *

"What's wrong?" Assassin asked as he walked into the room his Master was in. He was in his battle attire. Both were staying at Ryudou Temple. Caster and Soichirou were on the other side of the Temple.

"Just thinking about Dyaus Pita," Issei sighed.

"No use overthinking it," the samurai pointed out. "Why don't you join me in a walk?"

"You're right," the student admitted, walking over to the swordsman.

"That's better." Kojiro led his Master outside the Temple, down the stairs.

"The breeze feels nice," Issei commented. A snarling got their attention, and two Vaijra rounded the corner of the stairs, staring at Issei and Assassin.

"Get back," Assassin warned, moving in front of the student and taking out his katana.

"I-I'll help, too!" Issei shouted.

Assassin grunted as he used his katana to block a ball of electricity. The other one pounced. Before it could land on the samurai, Kojiro jumped back. As he tried slashing that Vaijra, it flipped backwards, landing where it was originally and avoiding the man's cut.

"Find that vixen Caster and her Master and get them here!" Assassin ordered Issei. He blocked the headbutt of one Vaijra.

"O-Okay!" As Issei ran back to the Temple, the Vaijra Kojiro was blocking reared back its head and roared, a shockwave of electricity nailing the swordsman and sent him skidding back. The other tiger shot forward and snapped at the samurai, getting a little bit of his right sleeve as the swordsman dodged.

Just as he did so, a shadow loomed over him as the first Vaijra tried to slam its right forepaw down on the Servant. Kojiro took a backstep in time, but the second aragami, even with the first's head, fired several balls of electricity. Kojiro tried to block in time, but one ball slammed into him, stunning him long enough for the first to swipe, cutting Kojiro across his abdomen.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Assassin spat as the first tried punching him. He used the blade of his sword to block, but was unprepared for the second's pounce, pinning the man down with one paw. It opened its mouth, charging a ball of electricity aimed at the samurai. Kojiro struggled under the Vaijra, seeing the ball grow bigger and bigger.

* * *

Soichirou and Medea were just about to go to sleep, Caster in her battle attire but took the rode off when Issei came bursting into their room.

"What is it, glasses-in-law?" Caster spat. Issei was panting for breath.

"At... the... stairs..." He gasped. Medea gave him a weird look and Soichirou just stayed silent.

"What is it?" the elf asked.

"Assassin's... fighting... Vaijra..."

"That dog can handle himself," Medea said as she leaned down on the pillow to go to sleep. By now, Issei had caught his breath.

"He's fighting two Vaijra and he needs help!"

Soichirou glanced over at the witch. "Caster?"

The mage groaned. "Fine, fine! The kid won't leave us alone until we do!"

* * *

When the three got to the fighting, Kojiro was bleeding from several wound along his body. So were the two Vaijra, though not as badly. Caster sighed and flew up, several purple circles of magic floating around her

She fired a few beams of magic at one tiger. It ducked and held up the red strips to try defending itself. A smokescreen was created and Soichirou charged one mana-induced fist, running through the smoke and punching the Vaijra in the head, cracking the plating and knocking it down.

At the same time, the other lashed one paw at the teacher. Just as it was about to hit, Kojiro used his katana to block it. While it was distracted, Issei charged one fist with mana, learned from Soichirou, and punched the beast down. Caster growled, unable to fire magic with the two Masters in the way.

As the three boys moved away, Medea fired several beams of magic at the tigers, and hit just one. The other fired several electric balls in the sky, blocking the magic.

"Ultimate... Swallow Reversal!" The three slashes shattered the undamaged plating on the Vaijra's head, exposing dark brown fur. Medea smirked, flying down and slamming her staff into the Vaijra's head, firing a few bolts of magic into the exposed part as well, killing the Vaijra.

The other aragami jumped up onto the dead one, trying to swat the mage. Medea tried using her staff to block it, but a sharp pain from yesterday's battle made her cringe, and she was batted into the hard stairs. Unfortunately, she hit her head and seemed to be knocked out.

"Just great," Issei growled. While his head was turned, the Vaijra jumped at him. Assassin grabbed his Master and jumped out of the way in time. Soichirou punched the side of the tiger's head, making it collide with a tree. But the three noticed the barrier stopped the Vaijra.

Assassin shook Medea awake. "Is it part Servant?" she asked.

The Vaijra snarled and got back up, shaking out the daze from its head. Caster fired several rounds of magic at the beast. While it was stunned, Kojiro ran in and slashed the Vaijra several times over the face, killing it.

They would have gone back to the Temple, but Caster joined Assassin at investigating the Vaijra. Soichirou and Issei exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

"It has the essence of a Servant, alright," Assassin murmured.

"They don't _seem_ like Servants, though," Caster commented, staring at the tiger's corpse.

"And they also have the Grail's power."

Issei came over and ripped off a sample, putting it in a plastic baggie. "We can run this through tests and find out what these things are."

* * *

 **[1] We actually get them almost every night.**

 **Since I haven't done it either, I'm afraid of messing up those scenes. So it will be implied explicit.**


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, after work hours, all Servants and Masters were to meet at Karin's house, since Taiga was at Shirou's. Karin noticed Lancer place several beer cans on the dinner table.

"Were you originally planning on drinking all those in one day?" Karin asked.

"Well, not all, but most!"

"... You're definitely Irish."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just a stereotype," Karin mumbled. She whispered so quietly Lancer couldn't hear her. "And you're upholding it."

Once everyone came and those that could were downing the beer, Issei spoke up.

"Last night, two Vaijra attacked."

"That's unfortunate, but not uncommon now," Karin commented.

"What was strange is they seem to share the same traits as Servants," Caster added. "You know Mt. Enzou's anti-Servant barrier? It blocked a Vaijra. And we ran some tests on a sample to see what made it up." She pulled out a glass jar with reddish-brown liquid inside.

"That's sludge from the Holy Grail!" Saber exclaimed.

"So that means the aragami were spawned from the sludge," Archer summarized.

"That sludge is like a Servant," Rin said. "That would explain why they share some similarities with them."

"Is it just me, or is there something... different about Lancer?" Assassin asked.

Shirou cocked his head. "Like what?"

"There's more... power coming from him."

Saber took a drink. "Only a mana transfer could cause that." Everyone, except Saber, Lancer, Karin, and Berserker, gasped.

"They _slept together_?!" Issei exclaimed.

"It's about time," Rin sighed. Karin blushed.

"C'mon! You guys are blowing this out of proportion!"

Shirou sweatdropped. "I suppose that's one way to get your Servant stronger..."

"I can't believe we did this before anyone else," Karin groaned.

* * *

Once all the talk of the aragami plus Lancer and Karin having sex finally settled down, the others got up and left. Once everyone was gone, Karin slammed the door shut.

"I. Hate. Everything!" she growled, blushing madly. Lancer chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"On the contrary, I had fun last night."

"It seems our private affairs will be common gossip."

Lancer growled and Karin glanced at him. "What is it?"

Lancer switched to his battle attire. "Near the back, in the forest. Something's lookin' for a fight."

Karin nodded and dashed into the living room, grabbing her spear. She and Lancer went outside, heading for where Lancer picked up the presence. However, nothing was there.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Karin asked, walking to the area's center and looking around.

Lancer's eyes widened and he dashed forward, grabbing his Master and pulling her away. Something large dropped down right where Karin was, creating a giant cloud of dust. Before it cleared, Lancer summoned Gae Bolg.

"L-Lancer..." Karin whimpered. She could make out that the enemy was shaped like some kind of tiger. Lancer held his spear in both hands.

"Just stay behind me an' cover me."

Karin held her spear closer to her body and nodded tentatively. The dust settled around the enemy, revealing Dyaus Pita. Karin felt her blood go cold.

"Oh, no..." She remembered all the Servants get beaten last time. Her legs were shaking and she didn't notice the tiger charge at her. Lancer shoved the assassin away and jumped back in the other direction, avoiding the attack.

Pita smirked and locked his red eyes on Karin. He held one wing behind him to block Lancer's stab. He whipped his tail, making it collide with the warrior and sent him back. The aragami charged and fired several balls of black lightning at the spearman. He used Gae Bolg to deflect them, but one got through, stunning the man. Pita launched one wing at him, looking to run him through, but Karin got in the way, holding her spear up to block it. However, the tiger flicked that wing up, sending the spear behind it.

"Thanks, but we'll need help. I'll hold this guy off while you get the others," Lancer told his Master.

"Are you sure?" She felt nervous about leaving him to fight this thing alone.

"I am." Pita tried to cut her with his tail, but Lancer shoved Karin out of the way, holding the red spear up to block the tail. "Now go!"

Karin hesitated for a moment before tersely nodding, running out of sight.

"It's just you an' me, bastard!" Pita glowered at the demigod and released a giant shockwave of lightning. Lancer was able to dodge most of it, but the last bit hit him, sending him flying into a tree, blood flying from his mouth. Some of the lightning coursed through his body, slowing him down. He tried leaping sideways to avoid the claws of Pita's wings from stabbing him, planting themselves in the trunk instead. However, just above his right hip was cut, splattering the ground with blood.

"Dammit!" he spat, gripping the wound to stop the blood from falling. Pita grinned and roared, roots coming up to snare the man. However, he jumped up in time, the roots grabbing air. But Pita anticipated this, jumping up at the warrior and punching him into the ground. Cu Chulainn struggled to get up, blinking away the blood from his eyes as it ran down his face. He held up Gae Bolg just as Pita came down, horns first, at him. However, the weight was too great, and the spear was brought down, getting his right shoulder gored by it. He took a quick backstep, blood falling to the forest floor as he did so.

The pain almost caused him to drop his spear, but he gripped it tighter. When the tiger tried slamming his paw over the man, Cu Chulainn held Gae Bolg's tip up, stopping the aragami from attacking. As Pita drew it back, the demigod brought the tip down to his center, trying to stab the Vaijra. Pita grinned and used his tail to block the strike. Pita swatted the tip away and used the tail to create a giant wound over the warrior's abdomen. He was sent several meters back, scarlet covering the ground around him. He traced a rune over the wound to help staunch the blood flow. He quickly held up his spear to block a wing.

Pita drew the wing back and punched the warrior in the gut, causing more blood to fly from his mouth and almost breaking the rune. He was sent crashing through several trees. Cu Chulainn had one hand on the trunk of the tree he stopped at, trying to support himself and panting hard. It felt like that punch broke a few of his ribs, which it probably did. Karin is gonna _freak out_ when she sees the condition he's in.

* * *

After a while, Karin gathered all the Masters and Servants and all were running back to her house, Servants in battle gear.

"Lancer is really fighting Dyaus Pita alone?!" Rin demanded. Karin nodded stiffly.

"That fool! He'll get himself killed!" Saber exclaimed. Karin bit her lower lip.

"... He's badly wounded. He's taking more of my mana to keep a physical body."

"He's lucky he's not dead by now," Caster said.

Shirou noticed tears come to Karin's eyes. "We have to hurry!"

* * *

Lancer glared at Dyaus Pita as the tiger came over. A crimson puddle formed under the warrior. Pita slashed with one wing, trying to take the spearman's head off. Cu Chulainn ducked in time, the claws scoring the trunk. Without missing a beat, he stabbed with Gae Bolg several times, driving the tiger back as it defended itself. Pita roared and roots sprang up, lashing at the demigod. Cu Chulainn slashed the roots with his spear and jumped at the tiger, prepared to stab its head. A wing got in the way, making sparks fly as the other came up to slash the warrior. He brought the spear up in time, blocking the attack and letting it knock him off.

As he dashed at the aragami, spear ready to strike, a wing came down and sliced through his middle. Just as Pita was about to finish the spearman, Hercules smashed his ax into Pita's head when the beast wasn't looking, dazing it but causing no noticeable damage.

Berserker jumped back as Archer and Caster fired swords and magic, knocking it back and freeing Lancer.

"Oh my god!" Karin shrieked, dashing over to her Servant, not even noticing the blood soaking into her shorts as she dropped to her knees next to the demigod. Rin went over and helped her heal Lancer. His red eyes were closing as he struggled to stay conscious.

"You did well enough up to this point," Saber told the warrior, using her invisible sword to knock Pita's tail away. "Rest now."

Pita growled as Assassin swung his sword at him. The beast went back a few steps, using a wing to block Soichirou and Issei's punches. The tiger growled, jumping back to dodge Shirou and Archer's swords. As it launched a giant ball of lightning, Assassin jumped in front of the boys and used his sword to block.

Saber and Berserker jumped up, bringing their weapons down on Pita. It used both wings to block, leaving it open to Caster's magic. The beast tried using his tail to block, but Assassin and Archer each used their swords to stop it from making it on time.

The magic blasts sent Pita skidding away. He snarled and ran through the trees, far away from the others.

"Looks like we need at least three decoys, one for each wing and one for the tail, to land a hit," Archer said, having both swords dematerialize. "And going against him one-on-one is just asking to have your ass kicked." He glanced at Lancer as he said that. Both females were trying hard to stop the bleeding. They stopped it at his head, the bleeding in his side had slowed, but the wound over his abdomen and where Pita speared him were difficult.

"He's lucky he wasn't killed," Assassin mused, crossing his arms.

"With the amount of mana he's hemorrhaging, he might," Saber murmured. Rin and Karin stood up.

"This is the best we can do while having enough mana for our Servants, though Karin needs to save more since her's is bleeding," Rin said. Assassin and Shirou went over to help Karin pick up Lancer. He groaned as his wounds were jarred while they carried him back to Karin's house.

"Be careful with him!" Karin warned. They got into her house and set Lancer down on Karin's bed while she patched him up.

Assassin glanced at Lancer. "He's very reckless."

"He was just trying to save my life," Karin told him, tears falling from her eyes.

"He almost lost his!" Shirou exclaimed.

"He'd better not, ever!" Karin growled, squeezing Lancer's hand. Assassin smirked.

"It's nice seeing a flower in anguish." Shirou was about to reprimand the samurai, but Karin beat him to it.

"My Servant almost _died_! How can I not be upset?!"

Assassin held his hands up in front of him. "Sorry! Just an observation!"

Karin snarled. "Keep those comments to yourself, if you know what's good for you!"


	6. Chapter 6

Several days later, on the weekend, Lancer was better. Karin had to call Lancer in sick a few times. Lancer was relaxing on the living room's couch when Karin came in, carrying a bag of towels.

"Hurry up and get changed," she told her Servant. Lancer cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What for?"

"We're going swimming, dumbass. Get your swimming trunks on." When Lancer didn't move, the assassin went over, grabbed his left arm, and yanked him to his feet. "Now!"

"Okay, okay!" Lancer exclaimed, jerking his arm away and rubbing it. He went to the bathroom to change before Karin did anything else to him. He came out a few minutes later wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of black swim trunks.

"About time. Let's go." Karin and Lancer went to the indoor public pool. After paying admission, Karin got her shirt and shorts off, revealing a blue two-piece swimsuit. While Lancer was checking out girls, Karin found a spot to set the towels down.

"Shirou an' Saber!"

Karin looked up. Shirou was teaching Saber how to swim.

"I didn't expect to see you guys here," Karin said as she walked over. Saber was practicing a front stroke.

"Ditto," Shirou replied. "Saber's learning how to swim. You sure it was a good idea to bring Lancer?"

"At least this isn't the hot springs," Karin sighed, getting in the water. She swam to the other side of the pool and turned around, wondering where Lancer was. Please let him know how to swim!

Saber got out of the water, She was wearing a white two-piece swimsuit. Lancer was checking her out and said something. Karin was too far away to hear, but whatever it was got Saber pissed. She grabbed Lancer and chucked him into the water. Karin turned red as people began staring. While Lancer was in the water, Saber ran over the surface like a jet ski after him. [1]

"Ohhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiit!" Lancer shouted.

"Like that won't raise eyebrows," Karin mumbled, watching the stream of water Saber was throwing up. "God, kill me now." She stiffened when Lancer went behind his Master, Saber charging at her.

"Let me at him!" Saber fumed.

"Look around you, first," Karin told her. Many people were whispering about the "maniac". Saber blushed madly as Shirou ran over along the edge.

"Sorry about that!"

"I think _he_ has some explaining to do as well!" Karin reached behind her and yanked on Lancer's ponytail. He yelped as Shirou and Saber went away.

"What was that for?!" he demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing, pervert!" Karin snapped back. "What did you say to Saber that got her mad?!"

"Nothin'! Just how she needs to be more of a woman for that swimsuit!"

"That kind of thing gets girls mad!"

* * *

After the whole swimming thing, the two got changed and went out to eat lunch. They were sitting next to each oter on a bench.

"Is this some kinda date?" Lancer asked when he finished his burger.

"Why do you ask?" Karin asked.

"We were going swimmin' together, an' now we're havin' lunch that you paid for."

"Wasn't my original intention." The demigod leaned over and sealed his lips over Karin's. Lancer tried pushing his tongue into her mouth, but Karin broke off the kiss. "We can't do anything more here! This is a public place!"

"Oh right!" Lancer quickly pulled back. "What do we do?"

"I guess just talk. How's work?"

"Not much. Thinkin' of quittin' soon. Though a lady came in one day 'cause her flowers died within one week of buyin' them. Soil was dry, so I asked her if she'd been waterin' them. She told me 'God waters them'." [2]

Karin cracked up. "So, where are you going to work?"

"I was thinkin' of helpin' you in the assassin business."

Karin gave him a long stare. "You know it's risky, right?"

"But yer in it."

"Yeah, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"I don't want you to get hurt, but yer doin' it anyway."

Karin sighed. "Whatever. Just don't be a liability."

* * *

A couple days later, Lancer told his boss to shove it. As Lancer walked into the living room after he was done getting ready, Karin slammed her phone shut.

"What happened?" he asked.

"My mom was checking up on me," Karin groaned. She made her voice high and nasally. "Are you OK? How are you doing at your job? You need to start dating." She made her voice go back to normal. "I told her you were living with me and she asks when I'm gonna have her first grandchild. For God's sake, we aren't even _married_."

"Ooookay..."

After waiting for dark, when the mark was active, the two headed out. The job was a few towns over. Lancer dematerialized while Karin got in the cab she called. The person they were after was a serial killer.

Karin went into an alley where Lancer appeared next to her. He was wearing modern clothes, except for a black hoodie instead of the Hawaiian shirt.

"So what now?" the warrior asked. Karin had taken apart her spear so it would fit in her bag. She laid it on the floor, opened it, and dug out all the spear pieces.

"We wait for that motherfucker," she snarled.

"An' so someone else needs to die for us to find him?"

"Hopefully not. I know where the kills often happen." She lifted the bag and her spear up. "Just be ready if things go south."

"Don't worry; I'll protect you."

"If things go right, that won't be necessary," Karin mumbled.

* * *

The two went to the area where the killings usually happen.

"How long do we have to wait?" Lancer whispered to his Master.

"Hell if I know!"

"What do we do after this is done?"

"Deliver the body to the client who happens to be in this town, doofus."

Lancer sniffed a few times, making a face. "It stinks of death here!"

"Then that means we're in the right place."

The pair held up their spears when they heard the sound of a can rolling along the ground. Then a scream.

"What the fuck?!" Karin exclaimed, bolting into another dark alleyway.

"Wait!" Lancer called after her, chasing after the assassin. When he caught up to Karin, the woman was standing over the body of a lady on the ground. The victim's eyes were wide in terror and blood poured out from a gash in her throat.

"Damn! We were too late!" Karin spat. A knife glinted and flew from the shadows, lodging itself in Karin's left shoulder. She fell to her knees, grabbing the wound while the spearman went over to her.

"Are you okay?!" he exclaimed, helping her pull the knife out so she could heal the wound.

"Yeah. It hurts, though."

Lancer got to his feet, his grip on Gae Bolg tightening as he glared at the area the knife came from. "Who's there?!" Another knife flew at him, but he used the red spear to deflect it. Lancer rushed at the spot where the attack came from, thrusting with his spear. But it hit nothing.

"Lancer?" Karin spoke up.

"Where's that bastard?!" the demigod snarled, quickly looking around for the assailant. Karin got up, picking up her spear, and went over to her Servant, grasping the cut.

"Can you sniff him out?" she asked. Lancer grabbed one knife off the ground and smelled it.

"Shit!" he shouted after sniffing the air. He spun around, grabbing Karin and pulling he behind him, using his spear to block a slash from a knife of the murderer. It was a man, probably in his 20's or 30's.

"Careful!" Karin warned Lancer. The warrior growled as he disarmed the man.

"For hurting Karin, go to hell!" With that, he plunged Gae Bolg into the chest of the man, killing him.

* * *

Once the body was delivered and the two went home, sitting on the living room couch, Lancer was the first to speak up.

"Sorry I let my emotions get the better of me."

Karin placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt."

"What good am I as a Servant if I can't protect my own Master from being hurt?" he muttered, remembering being unable to keep Bazett from being killed.

Karin shook her head, embracing the man. "It's a risk of the job I'm always prepared for."

"But it shouldn't have happened with me there!"

Karin sighed. "It was inevitable. At least I wasn't killed. And you've already risked your life to save mine before."

"It doesn't matter. Dyaus Pita's still alive. All I could do was stall it long enough for you to get the others."

Karin buried her face into his shoulder. "In a situation like that, just make sure you don't die."

Lancer glanced at her. "I'm just a Servant. It doesn't matter if I die again."

"It does to me." Karin lifted her head up and cupped the man's face, pressing her lips to his. Lancer closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around the woman's shoulders and pulling he up to his chest. "I love you, you know?"

"I know," Lancer chuckled as he pinned the woman down on the couch, pulling her shirt off and taking off her bra.

 _'At this rate, my mom may get her wish.'_

* * *

Ginrou looked up from the book he was reading. There was snarling outside the church.

"What's going on?" he muttered. At the same time, the doors burst open, revealing several Ogretails.

He pulled out a couple of blades, As one jumped at the priest, he stabbed it. However, the rest leaped at him.

Ginrou attacked them the best he could, but eventually one clamped its jaws around his neck, snapping it. Dyaus Pita watched through the doorway as the priest's body fell and grinned.

* * *

The next day, on the weekend, the Masters and Servants gathered at Karin's place.

"What is it?" Shirou asked.

"According to some intelligence I received this morning, Ginrou Kotomine was killed last night," Karin replied.

"But why would the Overseer be targeted?!" Saber demanded.

"Apparently, it was done by the aragami," Lancer told her grimly.

"They probably don't want the rest of the Church to get updates on what's happening," Assassin guessed.

"It's not gonna work for long," Karin said. "I learned the Church is replacing him with Kirei Kotomine's daughter."

"She could be a victim as well," Issei pointed out. "Something needs to be done about the aragami by then."

"I don't think we need to worry about that," Rin spoke up. "Other than last night, the aragami seem to be after all of us. They'll probably show themselves."

"The problem is Dyaus Pita," Caster said. "He is able to push all of us into a corner. Getting rid of him will be a challenge."

"We need to break his wings, but even our hardest hitter, Berserker, isn't able to do much against them," Lancer pointed out. "And Saber can't use Excalibur to break them because her Master's weak as shit."

"Hey!" Shirou shouted.

"What about a combined attack on each wing?" Rin asked.

"It could work, except he runs whenever his defenses are breached," Karin said. "Plus, he seems to attack a few of us at a time. By the time the others get there, the battle's almost over."

"Could he be trying to lower our numbers so we stand less of a chance against him?" Illya murmured, putting a hand to her chin.

"He seems to be the strategist among the aragami,"Archer said. "He may even be the leader."

"If that's the case, we have to get rid of him first!" Saber insisted. "If he's gone, the rest of the attacks on us should be less powerful!"

"Then we go after Dyaus Pita!" Shirou exclaimed.

* * *

 **[1] I wanted to put in that scene from Fate/hollow ataraxia.**

 **[2] This happened to my mom once.**


End file.
